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No easy answers for KU vs. K-State's Klein

Campo calls quarterback 'a big-time key for K-State'

MANHATTAN — Turner Baty, all 215 pounds of him, was given the unenviable task of portraying Collin Klein in practice this week for Kansas.

Baty was easy to spot, wearing Klein’s No. 7 and what appeared to be a few extra layers of padding around his midsection. The Jayhawks tried a few other players at quarterback, too, realizing their best approximation wouldn’t come close to simulating everything Klein does for Kansas State.

“We had the red shirt off of the quarterback,” defensive coordinator Dave Campo said, “but it wasn’t the same quarterback.”

Campo was referring to the red jerseys that usually protect KU’s quarterbacks from taking hits in practice. Hitting the quarterback was encouraged this week, because the quarterback will deliver a few hits of his own Saturday at Snyder Family Stadium.

Including starts from this year and last, Klein averages more than 22 carries per game for the Wildcats. Many of these attempts end with a violent collision somewhere on the field, with defenders often absorbing as much punishment as Klein himself.

“We have to stop the quarterback to win this game,” Campo said. “That’s why we approached it from a defensive standpoint that we have to get after these guys. The quarterback is a big-time key for K-State.”

The Jayhawks have faced other mobile quarterbacks this season, including Rice’s Taylor McHargue and Jordan Lynch of Northern Illinois.

Klein isn’t the typical dual-threat quarterback, though. KU’s defenders can prepare mentally for K-State’s schemes, but the Jayhawks also have to prepare for a physical challenge different from any other they will encounter this season.

“(Klein is) one of the most interesting quarterbacks that you could study in college football today,” KU coach Charlie Weis said. “In today’s game where everybody’s slinging it all over the place or everyone is running the read-option, he really doesn’t do either of those things. He’s a power runner.”

Klein probably isn’t the quarterback Weis would recruit to run his pro-style offense, but his abilities make him a perfect fit for K-State’s system. Even with his NFL background, Weis can appreciate the non-traditional aspects of Klein’s game.

“Obviously, if you go to play on Sundays, you’re going to have to throw it a lot more than he throws it,” Weis said. “But right now, it’s tough to argue.

“People want to compare him (and say), ‘Well, what’s he project to on Sunday?’ That’s not really relevant to this game this week.”

Klein’s abilities as a passer are almost an afterthought, possibly obscuring the fact that he’s been more effective through the air than KU’s Dayne Crist this season. Klein is completing 70 percent of his attempts, 22 percentage points better than Crist, while producing virtually the same passing yardage (758 to Crist’s 763) through four games.

As difficult as it was to replicate Klein in practice, stopping him on Saturday could be even tougher.

“His ability to run the football is there, and what they ask him to do in the passing game he’s been pretty successful at,” Campo said. “A lot of times when you’re playing the running quarterback teams you have some defensive backs making tackles on the quarterback. The bigger the guy is, the harder that is.”